Can you pinpoint the 5/16 on a tape measure immediately? I can’t. The inch fractions are usually marked with a simple line so one would need to count the number of divisions to get the fractions, and I personally always had an issue with this! It is so easy to make a mistake! The image below shows a tape with 1/16” divisions, even more difficult to count. I have seen measuring tapes (for sewing) with divisions marked for ½, ¼, 1/8, and 1/16 but no finer. The image below presents a section of tape divided into 1/8” subdivisions, the multiples of ¼” and ½” have longer marks. And the decimal point doesn’t make real sense for inches. The markings on it are applied with the main divisions with an interval of 1 inch and intermediate – ⅛ or 1/16 in.Īn inch is divided into 2, 4, 8, and 16 equal parts so the measurement in inches is something like “2 3/8” or “5 3/16”.
#Measuring tape marks how to#
How to read a sewing tape measure in inches The markings on it are applied with the main divisions with an interval of 1 cm and intermediate – 1 mm.Ī centimeter is divided into 10 equal parts – millimeters and one can express fractions with a decimal point (2.3cm – 2cm 3mm or 23 mm). How to read a tape measure in millimeters How many do I have? Honestly, I don’t know! I prefer tapes that are marked on both sides with both metric and imperial units like this one here and all my newer tapes are like this. I use tapes that are marked in both inches and cm for convenience but since I use often Burda patterns I also have some older tapes that are marked only in centimeters. Let’s talk about measuring tape marks first. So in this guide, I want to answer the question “ how to cope with both systems and transform measurements from one to another” or to be more specific “ how to read a tailor’s tape measure”. I was brought up with the metric system and when I saw a tape measure in inches (for the first time) I look at it with real bewilderment.
But this might be confusing if you moved to the USA for the first time and are not used to this system. In time this is no longer an issue and you get used to it. What is the distance between the pleats? Suffice to say that the pleats should be exactly 5.8” apart, but that does not translate well into inch fractions and if we take the closest approximation (5 13/16) this means one of the spaces will be in fact only 5 9/16. I need to make 10 pleats using this piece of fabric. Let’s take an example: I have a piece of fabric 58” in width. The main issue with the imperial system is the absence of decimal fractions. So we have to live and work with both metric and imperial systems of measurements and try to adjust as much as possible. I live in the USA and I find myself using the metric system quite often because all Burda magazine patterns (which I love!) are marked in metric measurements. Many in the USA have old-world roots and are used to centimeters/meters for measurements even if most patterns are in inches. Measuring tapes in the United States and Canada usually have both metric and imperial measurement markings but some of them can have only one type of measurement. Check it out.Īs you may know, there are two main systems for measuring length – the Imperial System of Measurements where things are measured in yards, feet, and inches, and the Metric System of Measurement which uses meters, centimeters, and millimeters. I have a detailed video sewing tutorial on how to use a measuring tape for taking body measurements. Better yet, several types of different colors at once. It’s simply necessary for a seamstress to have a measuring tape at hand. The most common length of a measuring tape is 60 inches ( or 152 cm), but there are tapes for sale, for example, 100 inches long (254 cm) or even longer 120” (304 cm) which can be useful for measuring longer lengths (like curtains, quilts, and other home decor items).Ī tape measure is used primarily for taking body measurements, as well as for drafting patterns, measuring fabric, laying out patterns on fabric, specifying the length of a garment, checking the size of hems, measuring curves and corners, and measuring curtains, quilts … and much more. The tape measure for sewing is usually a soft and flexible strip/ribbon with linear-measurement markings made mostly from reinforced polyester or fiberglass.
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